Buhay Pinay

Features

People

Sports

Philippine News

Join us at Facebook!

Overstayer jailed for $211k theft

05 November 2018

Sentencing was at Eastern court

By Vir B. Lumicao

A former maid has been jailed 9 months and 3 weeks after admitting
in Eastern Court
that she stole $211,000 worth of diamond jewelry and a tablet computer from her
employer, then stayed illegally in Hong Kong
for more than three years.

Fedelita R. Sante, 48, cried as Magistrate Peter Law sentenced
her on Nov 5 to eight months in jail for theft and one month and three weeks
for overstaying, to be served consecutively.

Law said he had discounted the sentences by one-third for
the Filipina’s guilty pleas.

“Thank you,” Sante said in between sobs after the sentencing.

The prosecution said that Sante stole a diamond necklace
with a diamond pendant, a diamond ring and an iPad Air tablet computer between
Jan 6 and Feb 4, 2015 from her employer, Melanie Helene Silvie Viquel.

Investigators valued the necklace with pendant at $200,000,
the ring at $5,000 and the tablet at $6,000.

At the time of the offense, Sante was employed as Viquel’s
helper in her flat at SumWayMansion
in Sai Ying Pun. The 37-year-old French employer hired Sante in November 2013.

Sante arrived in Hong Kong
on Dec 11, 2013 with a domestic worker visa that was valid until Dec 11, 2014,
but she failed to apply for an extension, the prosecutor said.

On Feb 4, 2015, the helper left without notice and became
unreachable. When Viquel checked her belongings, she discovered her jewelry and
tablet were gone.

After the theft was reported to police, investigators
checked with pawnshops and one operator tipped them off that the defendant, who
presented her Hong Kong ID card, hocked the necklace and iPad Air in January
2015.

The prosecution said Viquel paid the pawnshop $1,700 to
recover the pawned items. Police returned the necklace to the victim and kept
the tablet for examination. The only unrecovered item was the $5,000 diamond
ring.

Sante went underground while she was hunted down by the
police. She was arrested on Oct 5 for overstaying when she surrendered at
3:27pm to Immigration officers at SkylineTower in KowloonBay.

Officers who ran a record check then discovered she was
wanted for theft.Suportahan natin ang ating mga sponsor: